St Louis roads are oftentimes a mixed bag of surprises. Depending on where your morning and evening work commutes take you, you and your vehicle may experience anything from smooth asphalt to craters of destruction sprinkled throughout your path. Suddenly, your journey becomes a mission to dodge perilous potholes instead of just focusing on reaching your destination safely.
Unfortunately, no matter what you do to keep your vehicle out of St. Louis’ many potholes, you will eventually need a wheel alignment. Here’s how to know when your car is ready.
Signs Your Car Needs a Wheel Alignment
1) Vehicle Pulls To One Side
We’ve all had to deal with that one shopping cart in the grocery store that insists on veering to one direction or another; the same thing can happen to your vehicle. If you find that your car drifts to the left or right, even when driving down a straight, level road, your vehicle needs a frontend adjustment.
2) Crooked Steering Wheel
While this symptom may accompany your vehicle veering to the left or the right, having a crooked steering wheel while your vehicle is driving down the road in a straight line is a clear indication that your wheel alignment needs to be adjusted.
3) Abnormal Tire Wear
Your tires can tell you a lot about your vehicle’s alignment. For instance, if the inside of your tire is wearing out the rubber faster than the outside of your tire (or vice versa), your vehicle is ready for an alignment checkup. If your tire is exhibiting any other abnormal wearing patterns, such as a phenomenon called feathering, your frontend may also need an adjustment.
Wheel Alignments Promote Safe Driving
Not only can a misaligned vehicle be expensive when it comes to repeatedly replacing damaged tires, driving a vehicle that drifts to one side can be dangerous to yourself and the drivers around you. To reduce your chance of accidents caused by misaligned tires, you are advised to have your wheel alignment checked at least once a year, preferably during a routine tire rotation at the beginning of spring. This way, you ensure that any potholes you may have hit as a result of winter road treatments can be addressed.